In order to press-mold glass optical elements having high accuracy repeatedly by means of a die, it is necessary to use a die material which is stable at high temperatures, has excellent resistance to oxidation, and is inert with respect to glass. In addition, the material must have excellent mechanical strength so that the surface accuracy is maintained when pressed. On the other hand, the material must have excellent machinability so as to be machined precisely and easily.
It is disclosed that die materials which meet these requirements to some degree are a mixed material consisting of titanium carbide (TiC) and metal (Laid-open Japanese patent application No. (Tokkai Sho) 59-121126) or a material comprising a base material of cemented carbide on which a precious metal film is formed (Laid-open Japanese patent application No.(Tokkai Sho) 62-96331).
However, the conventional materials of the die do not meet the above-mentioned requirements completely. For example, the material of the die using a mixed material of TiC and metal has excellent mechanical strength, but is poor in machinability due to its extreme hardness. Thus, it is difficult to machine with high accuracy. In addition, this material has a further defect in that it easily reacts to lead (Pb) or an alkaline element contained in glass optical elements.
When a material comprises a base material of cemented carbide on which a precious metal film is formed, a diamond wheel is used to machine the cemented carbide. At this time, it is difficult to form a fine shape due to wear of the diamond wheel. Therefore, a special processing device is needed. Furthermore, there are problems that the process take a long time and that the die is extremely expensive.
A further problem is that a diamond tool used for cutting the hard base material is worn down during the process. Therefore, it is impossible to proceed with the cutting, and a shape having a small radius of curvature which can not be attained by a grinding process can not be fabricated.
The following method of manufacturing a die has proposed a solution to the above-noted problems (Laid-open Japanese patent application No.(Tokkai Sho) 62-3031). A base material used here has excellent heat resistance, heat shock resistance, and strength at high temperatures. A fine cutting layer comprising a material which can be ground and cut excellently and is chemically stable and having a high melting point, for example, Pt-alloy film, is formed on the base material. After this layer is formed into a desired surface through a fine machining process, the mold surface is coated with a Pt-alloy film for protection.
Another method of manufacturing a die is disclosed in Laid-open Japanese patent application No.(Tokkai Hei) 3-23230. In this instance, a film formed on a base material of cemented carbide has good adhesion to the base material. On top of this, an electroless Ni-P plated film, for example, is formed as a fine cutting layer. After this layer is cut precisely into a desired surface, the mold surface is coated with an alloy film for protection.
However, using the above-noted manufacturing methods, the film formed as a cutting layer did not have sufficient strength so that the die was deformed when press-molded. Therefore, it was actually impossible to mold at high temperatures of 650.degree. C. and higher.